With the marijuana industry now becoming one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S., far too many people new to the subject become confused when hemp oil enters the picture. Even the U.S. Government once showed confusion about what the difference is between hemp and marijuana. It led to a ban on hemp 48 years ago under the Controlled Substance Act.

It’s not hard to see the misunderstanding when you consider hemp and marijuana are both from the same plant. However, this is one of the only similarities. What usually confuses people is the THC levels in marijuana and hemp. The latter, hemp, has less than 0.3% THC, which can give some people the wrong connotations.

Take a look at how to distinguish the two, some history, and statistics behind hemp oil use.

What is Hemp Oil and A Brief History of Hemp Oil

Did you know hemp oil cultivation goes back thousands of years, beginning more or less where modern Taiwan is? One thing the ancients discovered about hemp is how it helped soil quality. It basically conditioned the soil for easier crop growing.

Hemp plants also absorbed water when there was excessive runoff while growing crops. Thanks to hemp plants growing tall, it also provided shade for other crops and livestock.

Eventually, hemp plant cultivation spread to China, where the Chinese were the ones who discovered the medicinal qualities in hemp. In fact, the old Yin and Yang philosophy comes from the first understanding of what the difference is between hemp and marijuana.

Over time, hemp growing made its way into Greece and into Ancient England during the 1500s. Early America also started growing hemp, leading later to farmers cultivating it to aid the war effort during WWII.

It was the cultivation ban in 1970 that changed the entire view of what hemp could do.

The U.S. Farm Bill of 2014

Only within the last four years have things changed in being able to buy hemp oil. Finally, the government acknowledges there’s a difference between marijuana and hemp. The stipulation is that the cultivation of industrial hemp is done for research purposes.

Now you’re starting to see hemp oil being sold everywhere with the assumption it’s legal in all 50 states. This isn’t to say there still isn’t confusion about the legality issue, with some states attempting to shut down hemp products from being sold.

How Many People Use Hemp Oil Products Now?

Researchers continue to point out hemp oil is the most unsaturated oil derived from the plant kingdom. While it’s up to you to decide efficacy, you can see the potential health benefits when consumed. Many people believe in this, and it’s why you’re seeing statistics showing people using CBD and dropping their prescription drugs as a result.

So how is hemp oil made to make it so effective in making people feel better without prescription drug side effects?

Extracting CBD Oil From Stalks and Stems

Online retailers of CBD products, like The CBDistillery, extract CBD from stalks and stems of industrial hemp plants. This is a process involving either CO2 or ethanol extraction.

With CO2 extraction, you filter plants through a series of chambers that control temperature and pressure. Using temperature control and units of pressure, it’s possible to isolate cannabinoids at a 90% efficiency rate.

Ethanol extraction is a more thorough method where you get a higher volume of CBD oil. Through this method, you can also remove chlorophyll, one of many unwanted components in dried hemp. Chromatography is usually the next step to remove unwanted plant phytochemicals from the extracted oil.

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